Includes bibliographical references and index

Part I: The origins of selective admissions, 1900-1933 -- Elite education and the protestant ethos -- The big three before selective admissions -- Harvard and the battle over restriction -- The "Jewish problem" at Yale and Princeton -- Part II: The struggle over meritocracy, 1933-1965 -- Harvard's Conant: the man and his ideals -- The reality of admissions under Conant -- Reluctant reform comes to Yale -- Princeton: the club expands its membership -- Wilbur Bender and his legacy -- Tradition and change at old Nassau -- Yale: from insularity to inclusion -- Part III: Inclusion and the persistence of privilege, 1965-2005 -- Inky Clark, Kingman Brewster and the revolution at Yale -- Racial conflict and the incorporation of Blacks -- Coeducation and the struggle for gender equality -- The alumni revolt at Yale and Princeton -- Diversity, the Bakke case, and the defense of autonomy -- Money, the market ethos, and the struggle for position -- The battle over merit

The author presents the findings of his survey of admissions at Princeton, revealing a century of exclusion that cuts to the core of the American experience, while raising questions about the stratification of higher education in America

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